My Flipped Classroom Experience

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

In the student survey I posted about last week, one of my students mentioned having a difficult time accessing the homework videos through YouTube on her Smart Phone. I had the videos set to semi-private (only accessible with a link) since I embedded them onto our class web-site, Edmodo. As much as I dislike the idea of my video lectures being public on YouTube, I did it for my students!

This past week students were assigned a homework lecture on Human Heredity. They were informed that there would be a quiz over the information on the day their notes were due and that they could use their notes on the quiz. Students were given the usual one week time frame to complete the assignment.

My General Biology students had a participation rate of 34% (34 out of 99) and my Practical Biology students only had a return rate of .04% (1 out of 28). This averages out to a 28% participation rate for the week. It does appear that a quiz over the video seems to be a motivating factor for about 34% of my General Biology students but not much of one for my Practical Biology students.

I find it interesting that in the 5 weeks I’ve been assigning video lectures, I have yet to get a higher than 39% participation rate. It’s frustrating because I can see the benefits for the students that do participate. I also hear so much about the many teachers having success with this Flipped Classroom model, but in my classes the students just don’t want to put in the time to watch a 6 to 8 minute video lecture as homework. I wonder if it’s because I am only semi-flipping? Perhaps if students had videos to watch everyday rather than only once a week my results would be different.

Monday, March 12, 2012

During the past two weeks students
have not been as motivated to complete their video homework assignments as they were
in week two.So far, week two was the
most motivating for students (see previous post), perhaps because I offered them the opportunity to
use their notes on a quiz the next class period.I will extend the same offer again this week to
see if the number of completed video notes will increase, perhaps there is a correlation.

As usual, students were given one week’s
notice about the homework videos and they were reminded about them each class
period (A/B block).Students were
assigned a Genetic Code video lecture due on March 1st and a second
video lecture on Selective Breeding which was due on March 6th.As you
can see from the graph, student participation dropped for both of the video
lectures.Return rates for Practical
Biology were 14% for both assignments and for General Biology the return rates
were 31% and 28% respectively.

I also created a voluntary survey which 59 students completed (45%).Below I have included some of the more interesting responses for you to
review.After each question students were
asked to explain their answers but I thought for the sake of this blog I could
let the numbers speak for themselves.Please let me know if you’d like more details about the student's input on any of
the selected items.

What do you
think of the video lectures when compared to classroom lectures?

I learn better from
the short video lectures that I can watch at my own pace. 20 34%

Both ways of
learning work equally for me. No preference. 19 32%

I learn better from
the longer, more in depth, classroom lectures. 20 34%

If you HAVE watched
a video lecture as homework, please mark the reasons why.

It's the only way
I can get credit for the assignment. 23 53%

So I can work in
peer review groups during class. 15 35%

So I can
participate in the activity stations during the next class period. 28 65%

So I can take my
time and learn the material at my own pace. 23 53%

I want to do well
in this class. 29 67%

To get good
grades. 31 72%

So I don't have to
make up the activity stations on my own time. 29 67%

So I can do well
on the quiz over the lecture video notes. 30 70%

People may select more than one check box, so
percentages may add up to more than 100%

If you HAVE NOT watched a
video lecture as homework please mark the reasons why.

I never do
homework. 6 20%

One week isn't
enough time to complete the assignment. 5 17%

I don't have
access to YouTube, a DVD player, a computer, the computer lab or the public
library. 10 33%

I forget. 24 80%

I don't know how
to access the homework videos. 0 0%

I don't care about
learning. 0 0%

I would rather get
no credit and do it during class time. 1 3%

People may select more than one check box, so
percentages may add up to more than 100%..

So far I have been unable to really
experience a true flip due to lack of student participation.I have noticed that students who are watching
the videos and participating in the activity stations seem to have a much
deeper understanding of the material which was my goal with the flip, but how
do I get everyone on board?

Sunday, February 26, 2012

On February 14th, my students were assigned a 7
minute video lecture on protein synthesis.The due date for their modified Cornell notes was February 24th
giving students 10 days (which included a four day weekend) to complete the assignment.I have decided to give my students a week’s
notice for their homework videos so those without computer access will have time
to use a school computer or go to the public library.So far only three students have checked out a
USB drive in order to watch the videos.

The chart below is
comparing the completion rate of the first assignment to the completion rate of
the second assignment. You'll notice there's been a big improvement, but we still have a ways to go. None
of my Practical Biology students completed their first assignment, but this
time 37% did!This is very close to the
39% completion rate I had from my General Biology students.This means I had a completion rate of 38%
from all of my classes, quite an improvement from the 13% completion rate I had
last time.Student motivation to do
their homework has increased this week and I'm interested to find out why.

Students that had completed their homework were
put into peer teaching groups to discuss their notes and answer each other’s questions.
During their discussions I had each group draw a picture story of the key concept
(protein synthesis) on the back of their worksheets. As I walked around to each
group I had them explain their story which allowed me to assess their level
of understanding. I could then clarify misunderstandings within their small
groups or with specific individuals.The
students that did not have their notes done had to watch the video and take
notes during this peer teaching time.

I had prepared a brief nine question quiz
over the content that was covered in the video, but not as an assessment of understanding.I allowed students to use their notes on the quiz so they could see
the importance of detailed notes and how sharing what they’ve learned with
others can increase comprehension.

Here is an example of the modified Cornell notes sheet I have my students fill out. They have the option of submitting them online via Edmodo or hand writing the notes and turning them in during class.

Students will now be assigned one
video lecture a week.I will focus these
lectures on the Biology content students often have difficulty
understanding.So far I have been
impressed at the level of comprehension my students are demonstrating after
their peer discussion groups and one on one teacher assistance.I’m anxious to get some student feedback from
another Google survey this week.

Question

What do you think motivates, or would motivate, students to watch video lectures as homework?

Now that I have introduced my students to the Flipped Classroom model and have collected some baseline data I will begin to roll out my research plan.

This study will focus on student
motivation using the Flipped Classroom model.It will take place in a Biology classroom, during the spring semester,
at Scottsbluff High School.This school
is located in Scottsbluff, Nebraska which is the largest city in western Nebraska
with 15,039 residents.It is a low to
moderate income community with a poverty rate of 54%.It is a regional trade center located within
an agricultural community.

Most of the students taking
Biology are in 10th grade or “advanced” 9th graders.There are a few 11th and 12th
grade students in some of the sections due to school transfer or past failure.This study will focus on two sections of
Practical Biology and four sections of General Biology.The classes meet for 90 minutes every other
day on an A/B block schedule.All
together there will be 129 students that data will be collected from.

Data collection for this study will
mainly focus on how well students respond to watching video lectures outside of
the class as homework.All Biology
students in this study have a digital classroom account on Edmodo (www.edmodo.com) where video lectures are
posted and accessible 24 hours a day 7 days a week. To accommodate students
without internet or computer access outside of school, videos are made
available on USB Flash drives or put onto DVD’s for students to check out and
take home.The homework lectures will be
assigned one week in advance of the due date so students can make arrangements
to use school computers before school, during homeroom, at lunch or after
school.Student access should not be a
factor that will affect the results of this study.

As students watch each video
lecture they will fill out a modified Cornell notes worksheet and return it to
class on its due date. Students that do not complete the assignment as homework
will have to miss out on the peer teaching groups and activity stations while
they watch the video and take the missing notes during class.No credit will be awarded to students that
did not complete the assignment as homework even though all students will be
required to have notes over the material.Grades are not a motivating factor for all students, but according to a study done on using grades as
motivation for learning, grades could be classified as either an external and
internal motivating force (Sebart & Krek, 2002).The number of students that watch
the videos will be assessed by the return rate of their notes worksheet.The notes will also be rated on a scale of
one to three: 1 = minimal amount of effort 2 = average effort 3= full effort.A rubric will be developed in order to
consistently analyze the notes and assign a rating.This likert scale will be used to track
improvement in independent note taking skills as the study progresses.Perhaps motivation to watch the videos will
stem from confidence in completing the assignment.

The third type of data being collecting
will focus on student opinions about the Flipped Classroom.Students will be asked to fill out Google
form surveys so they can provide feedback as to what they like and dislike
about the Flipped Classroom model.Interviews
with random students from each class will also be conducted.

These data sources should show
trends in student motivation for watching video lectures as homework.Some themes to look for during analysis include:
extrinsic versus intrinsic motivating factors, note taking skills, confidence
and change in student opinions.

This research project started in
January 2012 with a slow introduction to students and modeling of how to watch
and take notes from a video lecture.Beginning in mid-February students are being assigned one homework video
a week.This will continue for the
duration of the study which is scheduled to end in April.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Students that did not watch the last
homework video have had almost two weeks to get caught up on the class work
they missed. There are still 34% of my General Biology students that did not complete
the activities we did in class the day the lecture was due.

Going into this I knew my biggest obstacle
would be student motivation.The Flipped
Classroom model just won’t work if students don’t take responsibility for their
learning.I plan to start assigning one
video a week as homework.If I make the
videos part of our regular routine perhaps students will be more likely to jump
on board. My mission is to figure out
how to increase student motivation in an effort to make this work.Do you have any suggestions?

Sunday, February 5, 2012

The number of students completing their assignments was actually worse today
than on Friday (see post below). Keep in mind that the classes I saw today had
four days to complete their assignment with the weekend, whereas my classes
from Friday only had 48 hours.

My school is on an A/B block were we see our students for 90 minutes every other day.

Today only six students had their homework done while three had it partly
completed. It seems that time was not a relevant factor in students completing
the assignment.

Out of all 127 high school Biology students, only 17 came to class with
their notes from watching the 13 minute homework video, that's only 13%.None of my Practical Biology students did the
homework and out of the General Biology students that had done their homework
12 were girls and 5 were boys, 12 were Caucasian and 5 were Hispanic.

Class

Homework Completed

Homework Incomplete

Practical
Biology

0%

100%

General Biology

13%

87%

Friday February 3, 2012

One of my biggest concerns about
flipping came to fruition today.Out of the
69 students that I had, only 11 did their homework.This meant that only 16% of my students were
able to fully participate in the class activities I had planned!

As they arrived in class today, students
were greeted with my enthusiasm for the multiple activity and inquiry stations that
I had prepared to help them practice the content they had learned from the
lecture video.Materials were designed
to fit a variety of proficiency levels so that each person could make an
individual choice about the stations they wanted to work on.

·Beginners:Those that felt unsure about the vocabulary
terms and Punnett square practice problems.

oOne on One:I worked individually with students in the
areas they were having difficulty.

oActivity:Practice worksheets with keys to help build
their confidence in the material.

§After completion of this station students proceeded
to the proficient station.

·Proficient:Students that fully understand the material
in the lecture.

oActivity:Two explorations on using the principle of probability
in genetics.

oInquiry:Six real
world breeding situations that students had to solve (beginning to
advanced).

oReading:An article about using genetics to feed a
growing population.

·Advanced:A challenge beyond what the other stations
provide.

oReading:Researched web-sites I provided with information
about dihybrid crosses.

oActivity:Dihybrid worksheets and inquiry
investigations.

Students that had not done their
homework were disappointed when they had to use their activity time to watch
the video and take notes.Hopefully this
will motivate them to complete the videos as homework in the future.I emphasized that the video was only a 13
minute homework assignment while the stations would require much more make-up
time.

Before students could select their
stations, I placed them into review teams so they could converse about their
notes and practice problems. First, I modeled a variety of review team scenarios
with the help of “student actors” and the class had to explain what we had done
right and what we had done wrong in our review team.This demonstration helped students understand
the goal of a review team and the importance of discussing what they had
learned with others.

As I experienced this first true flip
I was filled with a mix of emotions.I
felt disappointment for the students that choose to not do their homework and exhilaration
from seeing students working together as a team to help each other understand
and solve problems.Rather than having
to sit and listen to me lecture for part of the period they were able to use
their class time to amalgamate their understanding of basic genetic principles
as I stood by as a facilitator to their understanding. This was an amazing experience and I hope that
my students will realize the benefits of watching the lecture videos outside of
our scheduled class time.

Question:

On average, what percent of your students
come to class without having watched the video lecture?

Students were assigned their first
homework video on “Predicting Offspring using Punnett Squares”.I am interested to see how many students will
do their homework in the next 48 hours (we are on an A/B block schedule).Sadly, our high school students very rarely
do any homework that is assigned.

I have the video saved to USB drives
and will make DVD’s for students that have limited access.The laptops in my classroom are also available
to everyone before school, during lunchtime study hall and after school.Students also have the option of using other
computers in our school or at the public library.

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About Me

This is my 7th year as a classroom teacher and I love every minute of it! I currently teach Biology at Scottsbluff High School in Nebraska. We are on a 90 minute A/B block.
This semester I am taking an Action Research class through the NASA Endeavor Program. As a part of my research project I am writing this blog to document my experience with "Flipping the Classroom". I hope you find some useful information and will share your input with me.